Feel like experiencing a unique fusion of ancient Umbrian culinary heritage, Italian cooking and modern Mediterranean dining in Dubai? Drop in at the Café Bateel restaurant in Dubai Media City, or visit the store in Dubai Mall and DIFC. Bateel was the first to introduce gourmet dates and naturally got popular as the namesake; Bateel means ‘a young offshoot of a date palm’ in Arabic. Café Bateel was the result of innovations and experimentations with dates, chocolates, and bakery products.

Café Bateel is probably the only place where you will find as many as twenty varieties of dates including Khirdi, Segai, Kholas, Wanan and Sokari. You could have them plain, dipped in milk or dark chocolate, or filled with nuts and sweet fruits. The Café also serves up a delicious range of cookies, biscuits, macaroons, candies, dry fruits, honeys, dressings, premium Italian coffee and much more.

When it comes to the menus, you are literally spoilt for choices – take your pick from the main menu, the Seasonal Special menu, Kuwait Iftar menu, KSA Iftar menu, and UAE Iftar menu. From breakfast to desserts and everything in between, Café Bateel overwhelms you with its salads, soups, sandwiches, omelettes, quiches, waffles, pastries, muesli, yoghurt, fresh juice and coffee. Vegetarians will simply love the lip-smacking Pastas and Risottos, which are laden with fresh vegetables like zucchini, fava beans, green asparagus, mushrooms, dry lemon zataar and bell peppers. Meat lovers will find it deliciously difficult to decide between grilled salmon with Quinoa, chicken breasts with cheese, sesame coated sea bass, beef tenderloin, confit lamb and steaks. Café Bateel believes in variety, even in cheese – you could choose from Parmesan, Pecorino, Burrata, Halloumi, or Mozzarella.

Cafe Bateel offers eleven varieties of coffee with various toppings and six varieties of tea with mint and chamomile infusions. If you would like a chilled drink, go for the special Bateel date and pomegranate drink, fresh juices, or mocktails. But the main attraction is indeed the Qahwa, the traditional Arabic coffee served hot in Dallah flask accompanied by Rhutab dates.

Cafe Bateel is not just limited to eating-in and offers an array of gifts that come in unique wraps blended in tradition. Luxury hand-crafted wooden boxes, exclusive trays and artistic hampers of assorted dates, cookies and chocolates are its signature creations. Be sure to take a memento back home to share the delectable story of Café Bateel.